Lessons Jack Beuer Taught Me

If you ever talk to Jeff (a pleasant experience) for more than 10 minutes (an unpleasant experience ;) ) he may bring up the subject of 24.

What is 24 (besides a number)? It is a show on Fox. It features the events that transpire in the life of Jack Beuer (a Counter Terrorism Unit agent) in real time. Jack has quite an exciting life to fill not one, but two, seasons worth of 24 hours. Actually, if you take out commercials, the entire series would only take you about 20 hours to watch. Still : I’m not sure I could hold people’s attention for that long.

So, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, as Carl watches the show passionately as well. I wanted to see if it was a Geek-related illness or quality programming. So, I watched. And I became hooked.

Jack Beuer is an interesting guy. He would just as soon shoot you in the face (with lasers perhaps) than converse over coffee. It is just this jump-and-tumble (is that a phrase??) style that I have come to expect (and applaud) from this wild gun.

Jack has taught me a thing or two.

1) Know what you want.

Jack knew what he wanted. In the first season, he just wants his family back. In the second season, he just wants his family back. He also wants to not die (a good goal), and he sorta wants to keep his job, but knowing what you want if step one.

2) Know how to get it.

Jack usually just kills everyone. Sometimes he lets them live and kills them later. Only some people does he let live. And those people usually help him find his family.

3) Look all around you before getting into a vehicle like someone somewhere is watching you.

I did this before, but it was nice to see someone else do it. I mean, no one is trying to kidnap my family, but if they did, I already have the “look all around you” thing down. Sometimes I do it twice, in case they knew I was going to do it and then they hid and then they popped up again and then I would catch them. I never do, though.

4) Tell everyone that they are just going to have to trust you.

Really, you are just going to have to trust me.

5) Sometimes you have to get dirty.

Jack does mean things to people. But he usually has good intentions (or his temper has worn really short). Like, I have learned that if you need to prove to someone that you are really his friend (even if you are just kidding about it) you should kill an enemy of his and hack-saw his head off. Put it in a bowling-ball bag and bring it to him. Then you are quite frankly “in like Flinn!”

6) Goodbye doesn’t matter.

Jack loves his cell phone. He takes it everywhere, and he loves to slap that thing shut. He is always looking for his phone, or someone is throwing him a phone, or he is taking someone else’s phone and pretending to be that person. What fun! But the one thing Jack Beuer does not do is say goodbye. He may give you a time when he will call you back, but he never really says, “Well, talk to you later, friend!” He just slaps his phone shut and looks everywhere around his car and then gets in and drives off.

Jack is really my new idle (I realize I spelled that wrong – it is for comedic effect). But what is the most important lesson I learned from Jack?

7) Jack Beuer can be wrong.

Thats right! Jack is not always 100% sure of anything, and that can get him into trouble. Like, in the first episode of the first season, he thought this one guy was a bad guy, but turns out he was a nice, good guy! So confusing. I guess the REAL lesson is to trust no one and to kill anyone you think might be bad. Or, if you think they may be important later in the season, then just knock them out or something.

Actually that is good advice. I am sure that most everyone in my family will come back sometime in the rest of the season, so I will not kill them. I guess the real trick to life is to figure out who to kill and who to not… kill.

But, really, didn’t we know that all along?

¿@Didn’t we know that all along or Didn’t not we know that all along@?

6 Replies to “Lessons Jack Beuer Taught Me”

  1. well, i think we might’ve, but i’m not sure. the real question is: is it really quality programming or still just a geek-related illness? heee. nice post, though. :worship:

  2. Jeff is like the 24 pusher that gets everyone hooked. Maybe he owns a portion of the show or something and the more people he gets to watch it the more money he makes. Think about it, and now he’s got Miles putting things on the net about it.

  3. ya know, it’s scary how much i can relate with this jack you speak of. i mean, like killing people you think might be not good….i mean…i have to go now.

    (notice no goodbye)

    *slap down cell phone*

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